Destruction of the Deva
At a Glance The Destruction of the Deva was a disastrous conflict between The Raven Queen and Ioun's blessed children, the Deva. History *-30,900 AoA: Taken taken a tribe of curious and long-lived humanoids, the deity Ioun blesses them with near-immortality to continue their pursuit of knowledge. This act is known only to the life deities (Oghma, Melora, Asmodeus). The transformed peoples rechristen themselves the Deva. *-30,700 AoA: Reaching out in their thirst for knowledge, the Deva expand from their homeland of Dondea and found the neighboring cities of Andea and Pandea (The Lost City) *-30,600 AoA: The Deva form a partnership with the villages Gladethal and Cessa'nul. *-27,900 AoA: Deva expeditions explore the far reaches of the continent in their search for knowledge. *-16,700 AoA: The lifespan of the Deva succeeds that of their Fey-Kin neighbors. The Raven Queen takes notice of their lifespan but remains silent. *-16,400 AoA: Sightings of Revenants on the mortal plane appear for the first time in thousands of years. *-16,200 AoA: Shifter clans to the west declare war on the Deva. They are held at bay by Vimala, Captain of the Celestial Army of Dondea. *-16,000 AoA: The Raven Queen begins to grow impatient with the lifespan of the Deva (with several being over 20,000 years old). With no end of their life in sight, the Raven Queen begins plotting the downfall of their immortality. *-15,900 AoA: The Deva make contact with the early human Barbarians of Mace Cross. *-15,700 AoA: 2,200 years after their blessing by Ioun, the Deva reach the peak of their civilization. Their culture is at a time of renowned peace and prosperity unmatched by any other mortal province. *-15,200 AoA: A crack occurs in the elemental space between the astral realm of The Shadowfell and the mortal plane of The Near Reaches. In a cataclysmic eruption of shadow-energy, The Shadowfell's realm of death spills out from the crack and claims the city of Pandea (The Lost City). Days later the Deva arrive and encounter a squadron of heavily armoured Revenants. The first conflict occurs between the Celestial Army of Dondea and the Blackhand of Halruth . The War (Length: 1 year, 1 month) *Month 1: Devas flee as Revenants take occupation of half of The Lost City. The Celestial Army enters the southeastern half of the city. Curious for the Deva, no Deva bodies of are found leading to their first series of skirmishes. Fierce street-fighting erupts in The Lost City between the Blackhand and the Celestial Army. *Month 2: After a month of tireless skirmishes, the Deva suffer their first casuality: Mocdan of Dondea. *Month 3: The armies of Halruth are sighted by the borders of Cessa'nul. Expecting the worst, the Celestial Army of Andea race to their allies aid. As the Deva arrive the Blackhand retreat from The Lost City to The Shadowfell. A tug-of-war begins in which the Deva balance their forces along two fronts: The northern and western lines. *Month 4: Agreeing to engage in the battle, the Elves of Cessa'nul army themselves for battle, allowing the Deva to focus on the northern line. *Month 5: The armies of Halruth emerge en-masse and devastate Cessa'nul, destroying it and its people over night. Troubled by the loss and with a wide area to cover, the Celestial Engineers of Andea create the Shardmind, arcane animates, to begin construction of the Golden Bulwark. *Month 6: The armies of Halruth probe into Deva territory, teasing their defenses. Attacks are repelled on an hourly basis for two months straight. *Month 8: Requiring a reprieve, the Deva appeal to the Barbarians of Mace Cross. In exchange for their assistance in diverting Halruth's attention, the Deva agree to extend the Golden Bulwark to defend their lines. After some reluctant, the Barbarians agree and stage a daring, but fatal, ambush of Revenants emerging from The Shadowfell. *Month 9: With its armies focused on the Barbarians of Mace Cross, the Deva rally their forces and complete the infrastructure of the Golden Bulwark. *Month 12: The Barbarians of Mace Cross face annihilation while the Deva continue work on the Golden Bulwark. Pushed by desperation, they turn to blood rituals and led by Delhalla become the vampiric Vryloka. *Month 13: Turning the tide of the battle, the Vryloka hold their own against Halruth and engage in a series of victories when Revenants enter their mountain borders. Stunned by the sudden increase of strength, the armies of Halruth are joined on the battlefield by Oros, Champion of the Raven Queen. During this time the Deva complete construction on the Golden Bulwark that reaches across their territory. *Month 14: Oros cripples a Vryloka counter-offensive that leaves Mace Cross in a perilous position. Calling for the Deva allies, Mace Cross receives no response. Cursing their allies for the shortcoming of the wall, the Vryloka abandon Mace Cross and travel north. During the same month armies of Revenants form a siege line in front of the Golden Bulwark. Ransis, another champion of The Raven Queen arrives to supervise the armies along with Oros. *Month 16: Two months pass as the armies of death collect their forces along boundaries of Deva territory. The largest battle of the war breaks out near the end of spring, occuring on the first day of Ravuun, the Month of Death and one Argosshian year after the outbreak of the war. Revenants and Ravens swarm the Golden Bulwark as Shardminds and Deva errect a magical and martial defense. The battle goes on for several hours before the sorcerous magics of Ransis cracks a hole in the side of the Bulwark, allowing Oros and the armies to enter and engage Vimala and the Celestial Army directly. The ensuing shadow magic races up the Bulwark and shatters the wall in a volcanic eruption of power, raining rubble down on armies of both sides. Stunned by the defensive loss, Vimala is slain by Oros. Unable to halt the armies of death, the last Deva soldiers retreat to plan a gambit from the walls of Andea and Dondea. *Month 17: Sending their loved ones off to the east, the remaining soldiers change their armour for civillian clothes in an effort to trick the armies of Halruth into thinking they had destroyed the last of the army and all that were remained were the helpless citizens. The gambit works, lulling the Revenants into a false sense of control and humiliating them by defeat at the hands of supposed "farmers and librarians". Oros enters the city and slays the last of these soldiers. Confident in the destruction of the Deva, Halruth's armies return to The Shadowfell which remains connected to the mortal plane.